You listen to his songs online, watch him eject your favorite managers and players, and scream every time he makes a call, whether it’s right or wrong.
Joe West, 64, the most polarizing umpire in baseball, is still at it, 40 years after it all began, and he’s behind the plate Tuesday night at Coors Field, working his 5,000th game in the major leagues.
He has umpired more games than all but two of his predecessors, 369 games behind Hall of Famer Bill Klem and 163 behind Bruce Froemming.
“It’s something I’m not making a big deal out of,’’ West says, “but it’s something I’m very proud of.”
The first time West was behind the plate was Sept. 16, 1976, a 5-3 game between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves at Fulton County Stadium. The game, featuring Joaquin Andujar and Phil Niekro, had just seven strikeouts, four walks, three homers, and two relief pitchers. It lasted just 1 hour, 54 minutes.
“Nobody believes it when I tell them,’’ West says, “they look it up and come back shaking their head.’’
West is the only living umpire from that crew that day. Gone also are every ballpark he worked that year, except Wrigley Field in Chicago, Fenway Park in Boston and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Country Joe West, who has produced two country music albums, appeared in the Grand Ole Opry and The Naked Gun, and developed and patented his own chest protector, has outlived them all.
His tenure has spanned six commissioners, 21 World Series champions, 151 umpires and 55 Hall of Fame players. The game Tuesday between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks pits two franchises that didn’t exist when he began his career.
The impressions he left were often indelible.
“Joe was infamous, or famous for testing out a pitcher early in the game,’’ says Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. “He would call a ball that was a strike to see if you were relaxed, or cool with it, to see how you’d react.
“Well, I learned something way too late. When I was with Boston, I decided I’m going to find out what song Joe wants to hear when I come to the mound. They gave me some obscure, sentimental song, and there’s Joe behind home plate, tapping his feet, and singing to the song.”
Now, a man who’s seen just about everything provides his thoughts to USA TODAY Sports about his tenure, and the sport’s evolution.
